Feeding the Ghosts with Essence Blood

The Five Elements Dharma-Breaking Sword incantation was designed specifically to shatter restrictions. Gu Tiannan had only been in the Qi Refinement stage, after all, and the spirit materials he could gather were limited. As a result, the Five Elements spirit swords he forged to complement the incantation were not of high quality, and Qin Sang had rarely used them later on. However, Qin Sang had mastered the incantation completely. Later, he gathered additional spirit materials and hired an artisan to re-refine the Five Elements spirit swords, elevating their quality a step above what they had been. He had already found the key to breaking the restriction. The spirit swords advanced side by side, transforming into a rainbow streak that plunged into the barrier. Ripples of spiritual light surged across the barrier like flowing water, illuminating the entire side chamber in a brilliant array of colors. Casting Yu Hua from his mind, Qin Sang focused entirely on the restriction, not daring to miss a single shift. He had to manipulate the Five Elements Dharma-Breaking Sword with absolute precision, borrowing the power of the five elements to unravel the intricate, layered restrictions step by step before he could succeed. Even so, it took Qin Sang a full thirty breaths to finally force open the barrier. Fortunately, Yu Hua had not yet trapped the Flying Yaksha. Breaking restrictions might not look like an intense battle on the surface, but the mental exhaustion it caused was not a shred less than that of the fierce fight just now. A single misstep would trigger the restriction's backlash, ruining all his prior efforts. Exhausted in both body and mind, Qin Sang wiped the sweat from his forehead. His face was unnaturally pale as he glanced back over his shoulder. The battle outside raged with immense fury. It would not be easy for Yu Hua to focus on breaking restrictions while entangled with the Flying Yaksha; this barrier should buy him a little more time. Pondering this, Qin Sang stepped forward and stared into the pitch-black darkness ahead. The path forward was uncertain, and he had no idea what awaited him. Yunyouzi had kept completely silent on the matter, only ever saying that the road ahead was exceedingly perilous. Yunyouzi himself had lacked confidence, which was why he had told Qin Sang to leave directly to avoid dragging him down. Yet several of Qin Sang's treasures—the silver knife talisman treasure, the Black Dragon Stone, the Spirit-Binding Cord, and his living corpse—had been destroyed one after another. He was now at the end of his rope, facing an all but hopeless situation, and could no longer afford to heed Yunyouzi's warning. Even if it truly were a deathtrap with nine chances of death to one of life, it was still better than staying where he was. Only in chaos could he wrest a slim chance of survival from the impossible! With that thought, Qin Sang's expression hardened with resolve. He summoned his ebony sword for defense and stepped into the darkness. The next instant, the world spun around him. The sensation was all too familiar. Qin Sang's heart stirred. Hidden in the darkness was actually a teleportation formation. When his vision cleared, he found himself looking into another empty ice hall. Unlike the ice hall outside, this place showed clear signs of artificial excavation. The square, orderly ice hall had been hewn out entirely with a sword. Behind him lay the same impenetrable darkness, while strange lights flowed across the facing ice wall. Qin Sang could tell at a glance that these restrictions were meant to reinforce the ice wall, and their defenses seemed primarily directed outward. Qin Sang quickly took in the surroundings of the ice hall. He was somewhat surprised by how quiet it was, devoid of the dangers he had imagined. Flashing into motion, he glided up to the ice wall. The ice wall was somewhat translucent, allowing him to barely make out the environment outside. Beyond the ice, a howling gale whipped up endless wind and snow, relentlessly battering the wall in a blinding expanse of white. Aside from that, there seemed to be no obvious danger, nor any ancient beasts in sight. Qin Sang's thoughts raced. Instead of breaking the ice wall's restriction to push forward, he sat down cross-legged against the ice wall, summoned his Ten Directions Yanluo Banner, and retrieved an item from his mustard seed bag. It was none other than the Ten Directions Yanluo Banner magic treasure he had obtained from Sun De! Yu Hua was not the only one carrying a magic treasure—he had one too! Qin Sang gazed at the massive banner and extended his spiritual sense into it. As expected, the magic treasure gave no reaction. "It seems I need to set up the array first," Qin Sang murmured to himself. Turning his inner vision upon himself, he saw that his injuries had improved slightly. With a wave of his hand, he deployed the Ten Directions Yanluo Array before him. "Come forth!" Qin Sang gave a low shout. Yin qi surged, and ten main souls emerged from the ghost banner. At this moment, Qin Sang still felt no connection between the main souls and the magic treasure. *Does it require essence blood...?* Qin Sang recalled every detail he had witnessed at the dark pool. He knew that demonic sects possessed many similar blood-refining arts, but he was unsure whether simply feeding the ghosts with essence blood was enough, or if it required a secret technique to accompany it. If it required a secret technique, he would have no choice but to abandon the idea of using the magic treasure, break the restriction, and keep running. Success or failure hung on this single gamble! His spiritual power coalesced into a small blade, slicing open Qin Sang's fingertip. Qin Sang forced out a bit of essence blood, splitting it into ten droplets that flew toward each of the ten main souls. Sensing the aura of Qin Sang's essence blood, the main souls acted like starving chicks, eagerly gaping their mouths and rushing forward to swallow the droplets whole. With the naked eye, one could clearly see Qin Sang's essence blood coursing through the main souls' bodies, wrapping them in a faint crimson glow. Qin Sang tried to activate the magic treasure, but there was still no response. *It seems that's not enough!* Qin Sang thought thoughtfully. Back at the dark pool, the main souls under Yu Hua's command had been almost entirely threaded with blood-red veins, and the glow around them had been several times thicker before they could barely hoist the magic treasure. Hardening his heart, Qin Sang disregarded his own weakness and forced out most of his body's essence blood to feed the main souls. *Roar! Roar!* The main souls let out excited howls. Blood-red veins began spreading across their entire forms, and their crimson light intensified. Qin Sang's skin, already unnaturally pale, turned nearly translucent, yet an expression of immense delight broke across his face. At that moment, he finally felt a response from the magic treasure! The method worked! Overjoyed, Qin Sang glanced down at the magic treasure and hurled it forward with a sharp flick of his hand. He then forcefully reined in the excited main souls, bringing them together to hoist the treasure in unison. *Boom!* An overwhelmingly powerful aura erupted from the magic treasure, striking a shudder of awe into the heart! The ten main souls struggled under the weight of the magic treasure, letting out strained roars, but they successfully endured the pressure and held firm. Qin Sang stuffed a handful of spirit pills into his mouth and hastily sank his mind into the magic treasure. To his surprise, instead of the countless living souls he had imagined, the interior was filled with an endless sea of Nine Nether Demon Flames that blotted out the sky. There was nothing else to be seen. He wondered if his cultivation was simply too low to perceive the magic treasure in its entirety. The thought flashed through his mind, but with time pressing, he did not dwell on it. Being able to command the Nine Nether Demon Flames was enough! With his mind linked to the magic treasure, Qin Sang willed it, and a vortex instantly appeared on the banner. The Nine Nether Demon Flames drifted out from the swirl, gathering into a single stream that circled around him. The power of the Nine Nether Demon Flames was terrifyingly formidable. Qin Sang had no doubt that without the restraint of the magic treasure, he would easily be reduced to ashes. Yet right now, the Nine Nether Demon Flames were completely docile, submitting to his every command. At the same time, Qin Sang realized how horrifying the drain of a magic treasure was. Like a bottomless pit, it swallowed his spiritual power without pause. Fortunately, his injuries had partially recovered and he had taken several spirit pills in advance, allowing him to barely sustain it. Still, this was not a bad thing. It meant that Yu Hua could not command the magic treasure for long either!